Method of making a metal container



Oct. '15, 1935. J, WERDER 2,017,361

' METHOD OF MAKING A METAL CONTAINER Filed March 9, 1951 IN VENT'OR B YJolt: I, Werdw A TTORNEYS Patented Oct. 15, 1935 UNITED STATES I2,017,361 METHOD OF MAKING A METAL CONTAI NER John F. Werder, Lakewood,Ohio, assignor of onehalf to Edmund Rogers, South Euclid, OhioApplication March 9, 1931, Serial No. 521,227

I 1 Claim. (01. 113-120) withstand substantial internal pressure so thatthe lubricant may be discharged therefrom under its own pressure.

It is therefore the object of the present inven- {5 tion to devise amethod for forming a metal container with suitable form of longitudinaljoint which is especially adapted to withstand such internal pressurewithout danger of the joint being weakened thereby, and withoutrequiring the ne- 5 cessity of re-soldering the joint to correct anyfailure of the joint as a result of the blowing' process. This processinvolves the application of internal pressure to the container,corresponding substantially to that of. the gas-charged liquid, 35 forthe purpose of pro-forming the body and heads so that their curvaturewill correspond, so far as possible, with the form which would naturallybe given by the force of the internal pressure to which the container isto be subjected.

= This is explained more fully in my United States Patent No. 1,762,903,June 10, 1930.

Other objects of the present invention and the advantages resultingtherefrom will appear from the following description and claim whenconsidered together with the accompanying drawing.

Fig. 1 illustrates the old form of internal, interlocking longitudinaljoint for a cylindrical container; Fig. 2 illustrates. an exteriorlyarranged interlocking longitudinal joint for a metal con- ,0 taine'rwhich forms part of the invention covered by my United States Patent,No. 1,788,261, issued January 6, 1931; Fig. 3 illustrates a plainoverlapping longitudinal joint which is formed by a means which is notwell adapted for the purposes 5 now under consideration; Fig. 4illustrates diagrammatically the present improved forin of plainoverlapping or laminated form of joint and the general manner of formingthe same; Fig. 5 is an elevation of the apparatus for forming thepresent 0 improved longitudinal joint; Figs. 6 and 7 are views taken onlines 5-6 and l'l, respectively, of Fig. 5.

- It is to be understood that the present disclosure is merely forpurposes of illustration and that 6 there may be devised variousmodifications without departing from the spirit of the invention asherein set forth and claimed.

Upon charging the old form of container 1 with a fluid under pressure,the force which is exerted equally and radially in all directions bysuch 5 internal pressure would naturally cause the wall of. the mainbody of the container to assume a shape corresponding thereto so far aspossible, approaching the form of a sphere. The result would be that acertain portion of the main body of 10 the container in the immediatevicinity of the longitudinal joint 2 would be drawn away from the jointand caused to assume a form as indicated approximately by the dottedline 3, as a result of the force of the internal pressure. Thus, thejoint would be at least partially weakened and the resulting form andcondition of the container in the region of the longitudinal joint wouldbe unsatisfactory unless re-soldered, since it would be apt to permitthe escape of the pressure and the contents from the container.

With the above conditions in mind, there'was devised a form of.container illustrated in Fig. 2 in which the longitudinal interlockingjoint 4 is located upon the outside of the body 5. As part of theinvention relating to this particular form of container, and as setforth in the above United States Patent No. 1,788,261, there wasdisclosed the procedure of first forming the joint 4 and applying thetwo end heads thereto, after which the container is subjected to aninternal pressure corresponding substantially to that of the gas-chargedlubricant which it is intended to contain. Such preliminary applicationof internal pressure will cause the walls of the container to assume aform-corresponding to that which would naturally be given thereto by theforce of such internal pressure as it is exerted radially and equally inall directions. -Then after having subjected the container to suchprelimin- 40 ary pressure, the joint 4 can be soldered for the firsttime, or, if having already been soldered, it

- may then be re-soldered so as to correct any failjoint is old and wellknown in a general way, as illustrated for instance in Fig. 3. In thisparticular illustration, the main body of the container 8 has itslongitudinal marginal portions overlapping and the strip 1 which isemployed to clamp such portions in overlapping position is appliedthereto at a point removed from the edge of the overlapping portion 8.This has beenv found to be necessary in order to permit the applicationof solder between the overlapping portions at the point 8. As a result,the overlapping portions 6' and 8' do not assume a perfectly cylindricalform throughout the region of the joint as they do not even contact eachother throughout the entire joint region, and thus it can not be saidthat the portions 8- and 6 are given a form-corresponding to'the formwhich would naturally result from the exertion of the internal forceupon the inside of the container, as above referred to. Therefore, uponapplication of such pressure by the introduction of the gas-chargedlubricant to the container, the longitudinal joint may be expected toyield to such pressure and there may be expected a failure of the jointwith consequent leaking of the contents. Furthermore, this form of jointin Fig. 3 is objectionable for the additional reason that the edge ofthe portion 6' projects more or less from the main body of the containerand there is thus not produced .the smoothest .possible form throughoutthe entire surface thereof.

' According to the present illustration, the metal body I is extendedabout an expansible mandrel it so as to assume cylindrical form, and theextreme edge portion of the outer part of the overlapping or' laminatedjointis clamped by means of the strip of asbestos ll,while the innerportion of the joint is engaged by the asbestos strip i2 which ismounted in the mandrel. The purpose 1 of the asbestos is to conserve theheat at this point by preventing its escape as would be true by the useof metal strips. The mandrel Hi is expended by means of the wedge i0which is operated by lever l3 pivotally mounted at It! upon thestationary frame. =The clamping strip II is carried by the arm I whichis pivotally mounted at the point I! inthe frame and has pivotalconnection 18 with the vertically disposed rod H for actuation by thefoot lever l8. Thus, upon operation of the apparatus just now described,

the body of metal 8 will be caused to-assume a cylindrical formthroughout the entire region thereof outside of the joint, and theoverlapping concentrically arranged portions of the joint will also becaused to assume a form correspondin to the arc of a cylindrical formeven to the very edges thereof. Even though there will be re- .quiredaslight offset between the overlapping portions of the joint and theremaining portion of the cylindrical body, yet it may be said that theoverlapping portions of the joint are arranged concentrically throughoutwith respect to each otherand in the form of a truly cylindrical arc andthe same thing is true of the remaining portion of the body 8. a

The solder may be applied between the overlapping portions of the jointin any suitable manner, as for instance, by preliminarily interposing aribbon of solder or a solder paste or powder therebetween or by theapplication of solder through a series of apertures throughout the outeroverlapping portion, as set forth in my copending application, SerialNo. 521,228, filed March 9, 1931. In either event, the solder is fusedby means of a heated iron which may be given proper wiping action alongthe outside of the joint, and the solder will fill the entire jointregion even to the extreme edges of the overlapping portions, and thejoint is of proper cylindrical form throughout.

Upon formation of the cylindrical body in the manner just described, thetwo end heads are applied thereto by soldering the marginal flanges ofthe same to the end portions of the body I. The container in thiscondition is then subjected to the blowing" process so as to bulge theheads into the form corresponding to the natural lines of force of theinternal pressure of the gascharged lubricant with which the containeris to be filled. Due to the present improved form of 20 nection alsowith' a conical or tapered form of con-' tainr and the following claimsare to be so understood=.- In either case, there will be the same ofcurvature in the body and joint of the container through any given crosssection therethrough.

Thus, I have devised a joint in which a film of solder of continuous anduniform extent seals the overlapping portions to the very edge thereof,and without any protruding edges or any other objectionable features.

Furthermore, since there will be no danger of the joint breakingradially with respect to the axis of the container, the danger of anybreak at all in the joint has been reduced to practically nil since thisparticular joint is virtually proof against the strain which is exertedcircumferentially of the container wall.

Thus, I have devised a simple form of container which is well adaptedfor the purp se intended and other advantages resulting from the presentinvention will be obvious to those who are familiar with the art towhich it relates.

What I claim is:

The method of making a metal container adapted to withstand substantialinternal pressure, consisting in first forming the main body portionwith a true circular cross section at any point therealong and the edgeportions thereof overlapping each other in the form 'of a plain two-plyjoint and arranged concentrically with respect to each other throughouttheir entire circumferential extentand also with respect to the mainbody portion, clamping the overlapping joint region including theextreme edge portion of the outer overlapping part of the joint, andthen securing said overlapping portions togetheras a permanent joint.

JOHN F. WERDER.

